Barack Obama says economic recovery won't happen until there's healthcare reform, and a growing consensus says now is the time. On this rebroadcast of today's To the Point, we hear what's still on the table. On Which Way, LA?, new leadership and big money for LA's troubled Museum of Contemporary Art, and a new threat to Southern California's water supply.

FROM THIS EPISODE

Barack Obama says economic recovery won't happen until there's
healthcare reform, and a growing consensus says now is the time. But it
won't be a single-payer government plan. On this rebroadcast of today's
To the Point, we hear what's still on the table. Then, on Which Way, LA?,
a shakeup at LA's troubled Museum of Contemporary Art results in new leadership
and big money from Eli Broad. We talk with him and others. Also,
efforts at energy independence pose a new threat to the Colorado River
and the water supply for tens of millions of Southern Californians.

The nation's best Museum of Contemporary Art has spent down its endowment to meet operating expenses. That's led to an investigation by the California State Attorney General. The LA County Museum of Art offered a merger, but today MOCA's trustees declined. They accepted a deal from MOCA’s founding chairman, philanthropist Eli Broad. He will match the contributions of others up to $15 million and provide another $3 million a year for five years to fund exhibitions.

Is energy more important than water? That's the question raised by expanded development of oil, natural gas and uranium along the Colorado River. It sounds great for energy independence, but almost 30 million people in seven states drink from the Colorado. Drilling and mining not only use water in vast quantities, but pollute what's left to flow down stream. Abrahm Lustgarten, with the nonprofit newsroom ProPublica, worked this story with David Hasemyer of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Barack Obama says healthcare reform is required for economic recovery. There’s a growing consensus that the time for action is now. By "universal," Obama does not mean healthcare provided and paid for by government. He wants to build on the current, employer-based system. "Universal" has come to mean guaranteed or mandatory health insurance for every American. What will it look like? What will be government’s role? Asked, can we afford to do it? Barack Obama replies with his own question. "Can we afford not to?"